


Notice The Cracks

by TitanTimberwolf



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Agni - Pushing a Figurine of Zuko into the Figurines of the Gaang: This is Your Family Now., Agni Tries to Help but Zuko Doesn't Like His "Help", Comments Keep Me Alive, Dragon Zuko (Avatar), Gen, I was struck by sudden inspiration that may or may not go anywhere, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh is Worried About His Nephew, The Gaang Adopts Zuko Without Realizing It's Zuko, Zuko is Depressed, Zuko is Desperate, Zuko is an Awkward T̶u̶r̶t̶l̶e̶d̶u̶c̶k̶ Sad Dragon, Zuko is confused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27237424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitanTimberwolf/pseuds/TitanTimberwolf
Summary: After the events of "Zuko Alone" the Fire Prince, disheartened from another rejection, rides himself into the middle of nowhere, and decides to wait out his life.Agni becomes distressed by his Chosen's loss of morale, and how far he's veered off of the path set for him.So, Agni decides to set him straight.And Zuko opens eyes that aren't his.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & The Gaang, The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 39
Kudos: 334
Collections: A:tla





	1. Unbroken

**Author's Note:**

> Just because I have two unfinished stories doesn't mean I can't start a third.

_"No! I hate you!"_

The words echoed in Zuko's head and his gaze dropped from the horizon to the head of his _(Song's)_ ostrich-horse.

_'Why? Why do I bother? All I am is a disappointment and a useless "heir"._

_'…_

_…_

_… Maybe?'_

Making up his mind, he turns off the road, and into the vast plains, riding until nothing is in sight.

He slides off the animal and releases it, shooing it away, hoping it will find somewhere to stay.

And with that, he sits

And waits…


	2. When There Seems To Be No Way Out

Days pass, and all Zuko notices as things start to haze together is a small, numbed discomfort.

And as he falls asleep once more, he opens his eyes to somewhere unfamiliar.

The strange flora and fauna surrounding the stone plate he's sitting on are like nothing he's seen or heard about.

And as he looked closer and brushed his fingers across it, he saw intricate carvings. Carvings of stories. Of sages and avatars, heroes and dragons.

A soft chuckle broke him out of his reverie.

His head shot up to the voice, and he recoiled.

On front of him was a spirit.

 _The_ spirit

_Agni._

The sun spirit, the _sun himself,_ was sitting in front of him.

His outfit was a mix between that of a fire sage, and the ceremonial robes of the Fire Lord.

He didn't have a head, just a ball of light in place, surrounded by small halos.

Zuko hurriedly stood and started to bow, but stopped upon seeing Agni raise his hand.

Agni pat the stone and Zuko say back down.

"Agni," He started. "May I ask why you have called me to the Spirit World?"

Agni put his hands together, and then shifted them, making shapes and symbols that floated off into glowing sigils that swirled around Zuko.

Suddenly, all Zuko could see was a tornado of light, filling his vision and flooding his senses as a voice echoed in his head.

**~~"My Chosen, this is not the path picked for you. It is not yet your time. Go, fulfill your purpose."~~ **

"My purpose? What does that mean?"

~~**"It is one you will resist, so I will give you an incentive. I just hope it is enough."** ~~

~~~~"I'm confused. What are you telling me?"

~~**"Find the avatar. He is your purpose, just not in the way you may have thought. Only then will my incentive turn to your will."** ~~

~~~~The Spirit World started to fade, and Zuko's eyes widened.

"Wait! What do you mean? What incentive? Please!"

And it turned to black.

~~**"When between a rock and a hard place, look for the cracks in the wall, for even the smallest may be your way out."** ~~

* * *

And in the black of night, in an empty field curtained by stars, Zuko woke.

He woke with eyes that were not his, a body that was certainly not proportioned correctly, and a roar that shook the earth.


	3. Kidnapping? You Mean Surprise Adoption.

Appa flew through the sky, the atmosphere on his back so tense you could poke it with your finger, and it'd smack you back.

Sokka glanced at Aang, sitting on the Bison's head, nodding off before jerking awake again.

Katara and Toph were sitting on the far ends of the saddle, the former glaring at the passing scenery, the latter with crossed arms and a deep frown.

He sighed.

He knew they were tired, everyone was, what with the princess and her lackeys chasing them, but did they have to squabble so much? Was it that much to ask?

He went back to sharpening his boomerang.

At least he would have if his eye missed the shadow.

Something was streaking downwards from the sky, _towards them_

Aang specifically.

"Hey! Aang, move!"

Katara and Toph looked his way as Aang turned towards him, a question on his lips.

His eyes widened.

And suddenly the, _thing,_ was speeding away.

And Aang was gone from the saddle.

* * *

Zuko chortled as he raced away, disbelieving that he got away with it.

The Avatar squirmed in his ~~hands~~ _claws._

 _Agni,_ he didn't want to stay this way.

He glanced down as he adjusted a couple "fingers" to lock the Avatar's arms and legs together.

He wouldn't fail.

Not this time.

As the bison shrunk until it was gone from his vision, he slowed to a more leisurely speed.

He'd take the Avatar to the fire nation, and then he'd be accepted, _loved,_ and he wouldn't be stuck in this miserable body.

Maybe his father wou-

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut as blinding pain raced through his left wing and back leg.

And he screamed as he fell to earth.

* * *

"Yes! I got it!"

Sokka watched in Glee as the animal flailed and _shrieked,_ as it spun towards the dirt.

He grabbed the reigns and steered Appa down through the trees, before landing with a huff on the leafy ground.

Katara hopped off as he helped Toph down.

They all turned to gawk at the creature they struck down from the sky.

It was long, and mainly black. He could only see bits of white on the part of its face that wasn't turned away.

He took a step closer to the still beast, hoping to see Aang close by, or hear him above the giant's labored breathing.

 _"Aang!"_ He whisper-yelled. _"Aang are you there?"_

"Yeah, yeah I'm good" He saw the monk crawl from between the brute's claws.

"What happened?" Aang asked.

"You were steering Appa and-" Katara began.

"This giant lizard nabbed you! I knocked it down though."

"That's not a lizard! It's a dragon!" He paused. "Sokka! it could be hurt!"

"I'll give it a look-over, and then we'll go." Katara said.

"You do that Sugar Queen. Heads up though, something's wrong with its back left leg, might be broken, and its breathing and heartbeat are extremely erratic. Be careful."

Katara smiled. "Thanks Toph."

She stepped forward,

amd the prince awoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka be like: If I can't hit it with the boomerang, I'll hit it with the bison.


	4. A Calm Voice and A Kind Hand

"Back up!" Sokka yelled as he pulled his boomerang out and held it threateningly.

Everyone shifted away and got into battle stances.

The overgrown salamander twisted its legs back underneath it and attempted to stand, only to crumple with a yelp as its left hind leg gave out.

Katara looked at it. It's body was black, with an off-white mane and translucent webbing on its wings. It had tufts of fur on its elbows and chin, with gold looking spikes on its neck.

Its face was what surprised her though.

It was mainly blue, but it had nearly white markings around its eyes and near it's lips.

She stepped forward.

"I can try to fix that, if your'd like." She spoke to it.

Its gaze snapped to them, and her eyes widened. The white was the same on the left side of its face as its right, but what surprised her was the blue. Nearly the entire left half of its face, where there should have been blue, was a mottled pink.

It stared, as if trying to process why they were there, before pulling back its lips and hissing a long, threatening noise.

"Katara! Get back here! It obviously doesn't want to be bothered, so let's just get on the bison, and leave it in peace."

"No! We, or should I say, _you,_ hurt it. we have to do something."

"Azula and her friends are coming! We don't have the time!'

No one noticed its ears perk up slightly at the sentence.

"Exactly! We can't just leave it here injured! Just, make yourselves less threatening, and I'll try to get it to calm down enough to heal. It shouldn't take long."

She turned around and took another cautious step forward. It tensed, but slowly relaxed after a couple seconds. She took another and it snarled, then waited. On the third the hiss came back with a vengeance.

She glanced back and saw that, while Aang had gone back to watch from on Appa, and Toph was standing on the ground not far away from them, Sokka had taken a step forward each time she did.

" _Sokka, go back."_

"No. What if it tries to eat you? You won't be able to do anything."

She just glared at him until he muttered a 'fine' and shuffled over by Appa.

She returned her attention back to the dragon, which was staring at her as if to guess her next action.

"May I take a look at your leg please?"

It stared at her at her for a couple more seconds, as if weighing its odds, before growling and shuffling onto its right side, before jerking its head towards its leg.

She cautiously took a couple steps forward, watching to make sure it didn't make any sudden movements, and it seemed it was doing the same.

She turned her attention to the leg, and saw that it was twisted at an awkward angle.

She grabbed her water skin and popped the top off, pretending not to notice the flinch, and drawing some water out and lifting her hands to heal it.

"This may feel uncomfortable, but it will fix your leg." She spoke to it in a calm voice.

The water spread and she heard a low grumble as it shifted slightly.

She focused on its leg. The structure was, fundamentally, the same as a human's, but she had to focus on working through all the differences to make sure she didn't make the injury worse.

It took some time, but they didn't hear the machines coming, and Toph didn't give an alert, so she healed it as best she could.

As she finished, she eased her mind away from the strenuous task, and looked at it, while trying to make it look like she wasn't doing an observation.

She hummed a noise as she saw that the scales weren't black, but a nearly ebony colored blue, with a deep maroon on its underbelly.

"I think that's it for your leg." Katara spoke as she stood and backed up.

She watched in mild amusement as it cautiously stood and tested it's weight on its legs.

She smiled. "Are hurt anywhere else?"

It looked back towards her and shifted it's left wing out a bit, before wincing and retracting it.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I'll be able to fix that. I only have practice on humans, experience with wings isn't under my belt quite yet."

It continued staring at her as it flicked it's ears and huffed.

"That's so cool!" Aang yelled as he flew off Appa and next to Katara, smiling. "I'm Aang!"

It tilted its head and squinted, as if contemplating something, before taking a step towards them and leaning it's head closer.

It jerked back as Appa rushed forward to stand over Aang protectively, rumbling angrily at it.

Toph trailed behind Sokka as he jogged forward.

"You tell 'em Appa! Don't let it take Aang again!"

The dragon glared at Sokka and snarled.

If asked later, Sokka would deny "hiding" behind Katara.

"Well, we should probably get going now. Sorry about your wing." Katara said.

" _Well_ ," Aang started, drawing out the word. "We _could_ stay for the night, or at least until Azula gets here."

The dragon half laid down on its side, watching them.

"Aang, we gotta go-"

"But it's getting late! And we're all _so_ tired."

"You just want to stay by the dragon, don't you?"

Aang fiddled with his hand while giving his best polarbear-puppy eyes.

"Well _I_ think that's a great idea." Toph said as she strutted forward, before sitting down and leaning against the dragon's stomach with her hands behind her head.

It made a surprised noise and Katara saw it was staring at Toph with wide eyes, clearly not expecting her.

She chuckled and went to Appa's pack.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt _too_ much."

"You too? I thought you were the sensible one!" Sokka exclaimed as Aang fist pumped and mouthed 'yes!'.

"A small break won't hurt. And Toph will wake up if Azula gets too close."

And the dragon watched them as they made camp.

* * *

•Dragon Zukos with Spirit World-ish backgrounds•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuko, to Aang:  
> Take the Child?  
> >.Yes.< \-------------------------------- .No.  
> Appa: nO  
> ~  
> Ao3: what nice pictures! It'd be a shame if they Dropped In Quality.  
> ~  
> If anyone has ideas I'm open to suggestions.


	5. The Plot of a Prince

Zuko laid on his side and watched in amusement as the boy peasant yelled at his sister and the Avatar, trying to get them to repack and fly away, even though they already had a fire going and food being cooked. The girl peasant ignored the other's complaints as the Avatar tried to hide his laughter.

He looked down at his side and saw that the dirt child hadn't moved from her spot leaning on his stomach. He typically disliked physical contact, but this... wasn't the _worst_ thing ever.

Besides, if he acts nice he can get the Avatar's little group to let down their guard and trust him, then he'll make his move.

But for now, he'd tag along, simply acting like a curious animal that found a particular interest in them.

How he'd keep up while they flew, on the other hand, that'd be a little harder to figure out.

Some time past, and the sun moved through the sky before sinking beneath the horizon. the fire went out, and the group went to sleep.

Zuko looked at the stars, and made a prayer to Agni.

...

"You're pretty warm, y'know that?" a voice said near him.

He jolted and turned to see that the child leaning against his stomach had her eyes open and was staring in the vague direction of his head.

Unsure of how to respond, he remained silent.

"You can understand me right? I'm pretty sure you can. Tap the ground once if you can, and twice if you can't." A pause before there was a whispered, _"Well if you can't understand me I guess you probably wouldn't tap the ground at all."_

Zuko cautiously raised his left leg and thumped it against the ground, trying not to wake the other children.

"So you _can_ understand us. Cool." He heard a sigh and felt the girl shift, leaning more into his side. "Anyway, you're really warm, and comfortable to sleep on, might I add. Talk to ya in the morning Radiator."

It was silent the rest of the night.

And the prince joined the others in sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments bring me Life and Joy.  
> Me, looking at a bag labeled "Comments": The directions say to please feed the author regularly.


	6. An Unpleasant Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had the entire chapter written and saved, but when I checked on it later to post it, over half got deleted and I had to rewrite pretty much the entire chapter.  
> Oof

Zuko woke to a jab in the gut.

He lifted his head and glanced around, taking note that the sun was just starting to rise, and stopping when he saw the dirt girl kneeling with her hands on the ground, seemingly focusing on something. He leaned closer, but froze when he noticed something. His ears swiveled up and he heard faint noise in the distance

He lifted his head in the noise's direction, trying to hear it better when the child called out.

"Azula! Up! Everyone up now! Azula's coming"

The three sleepers jumped up quickly, shaking off their drowsiness as they packed.

Zuko stood and stretched, wincing when he accidentally moved his left wing, before meandering towards the frantic children, trying to appear nonchalant to hide his inner panic.  
  
He watched them shove things onto the bison's saddle, surprised at the layer of fur on the ground around the animal.  
  
He stood on one side of the creature and, looking over it, saw the waterbender trying to shove an overstuffed bag onto the saddle.

 _'If I act nice they'll trust me faster'_ He thought as he twisted his neck over the bison, grabbed the pack with his teeth, and pulled it onto the saddle.  
  
He meandered around the bison, as if nothing happened, ignoring but still noticing the girl stare at him for a couple seconds, before she ran away to grab something else. 

Once all their things were on the saddle the avatar walked over to him.

"Alright, a bad lady's coming this way. You _have_ to get out of here, okay? She might hurt you."

 _'I know for a fact she would'_ Zuko thought. He responded with a vague nod.

"Ok, we gotta go."

They all climbed into the bison and flew away after a quick "yip-yip" from the avatar.

As Zuko watched them, he saw clumps of pale fur fluttering down behind the animal… A route to follow.

He bounded into the trees.

* * *

"It's all Appa's fault! His shedding is leaving a clear trail for them to follow!"

"Apps? If anything it's _your_ fault! You don't help us, you only look after yourself, you don't _do anything_!"

Toph glared in the direction she felt the group near. She opened her mouth to retort when she stopped.

Something was coming.

She could tell that it was moving through the trees due to the vibrations coming directly from the wood and roots, and from how muffled they seemed to be.

She twisted around into a bending stance and jutted out a hand just as it burst through the leaves.

* * *

Zuko leapt off the last branch and into the clearing the fur led him to.

He had gotten about halfway through the tree line when a ring of stone shot up from the ground and pinned his neck to a tree.

He barked out a quick noise of surprise and started grabbing at it.

"Wha-"

"It followed us?"

"It came back! Toph let it go it's the dragon!"

The girl (Toph, apparently? A blind earthbender?) yanked her hand away from the tree, making the ring come out with it.

He fell to the ground, catching himself and standing.

"Sorry, you overgrown iguana-bat." She said to him, before walking to the tree line and calling out behind her as she left. "Bye Avaturd & Co!"

Zuko looked back at the rest of the avatar's group, confused, and saw that they all had disgruntled looks on their faces.

He approached slowly, vaguely hearing a quiet "good for nothing-" from the waterbender.

"Guys," the avatar started, looking at the others in the group, "I have an idea."

* * *

Aang helped Katara weave the river's water through Appa's fur, pulling out all of the loose pieces, as Sokka and Momo scrubbed him with brushes.

The dragon was laying, not unlike a cat, upstream in the river, watching them work.

Aang giggled quietly and motioned to Katara to watch. He altered the way his hands were moving and made a wave start building behind the dragon, before releasing his hold and allowing the water to fall down, soaking the unsuspecting lizard.

It made a surprised noise and glared at Aang, before standing up and walking in his direction.

It stopped right in front of him, turned slightly, and smacked Aang with the wet fur of its tail, drenching him.

It gave him a smug look before shaking off, making Katara and Sokka call out in protest as they got soaked, and smirking as it walked back and laid down where it was previously.

Aang smiled at it and started laughing as Sokka sputtered and complained to his exasperated sister.

* * *

When the trio split, Zuko followed the avatar.

He kept the child in his line of sight as he raced through the trees.

Soon the trees lessened and disappeared and they reached a ghost town. The buildings we're rundown and destroyed, with no sign of life anywhere.

The avatar landed at a dead end in the center of the town as Zuko approached.

"Thanks for coming with me." The avatar said. "It's nice to not be alone."

Zuko moved to stand behind the avatar, so that he was facing the exit, intent on grabbing the boy and bolting.

He was about to make his move when a voice called out.

"No where to run, Avatar."

Aang's expression remained neutral as Zuko lowered himself to the ground, baring his teeth as he hissed.

"Oh, and you have a new pet. A dragon, as it happens to be. Don't you know those are supposed to be extinct? Here, let me _fix it for you!_ " 

She quickly let out a jet of flame in their direction.

Zuko jumped and twisted in front of the avatar, swinging his tail through the fire and dispersing it all in one move. He landed in front of the boy and faced his sister, roaring as a burst of fire found its way from between his jaws.

She blocked it and smirked.

"Well, I guess the beast's protective of you."

To Azula, the message his actions sent was one of care.

To Zuko, they were closer to _'my catch, my reward.'_

Not that she'd care.

Azula moved.

And the chase began.

* * *

"I've been tracking my nephew, but his trail disappeared a couple days ago. I will continue on in the hopes that I will find him."

"Good luck Sir, I hope you're able to find your nephew, and thanks for the tea and pep-talk."

"It was my pleasure."

* * *

Azula was stuck. Pressed into a corner against four others and a _dragon._ She might be able to win, but that wasn't a chance worth taking.

She slowly lifted her hands in surrender.

"Five against one. I know when I'm outmatched."

She waited until she saw them relax, just the slightest bit, before she struck.

And made her escape.

* * *

_"Aaahh!!"_

"Sokka!"

"No!"

* * *

Zuko was laying on his side, watching the fire he lit with the wood the others gathered from the rundown buildings.

Katara had barely taken a break until Sokka's shoulder was as healed as possible, and was now finally resting.

Aang was sitting on Appa's head, petting the bison.

Sokka kept trying to lighten the mood. He had succeeded a while ago, but no one told him to stop, so he continued.

Toph was laying against Zuko's stomach, curled up slightly.

It was nice.

"Hey guys, do you think Spark Rocks is going to be staying with us?" Sokka asked.

"It's a possibility."

"Maybe. I hope so."

"Why don't we ask 'im?" Toph said.

The others all gave her questioning looks.

"Judging by your silence, none of you thought about it. Last night, after you guys had fallen asleep I asked if Sparky understood us, and to hit the ground once for "yes" or twice for "no." Toph turned to look in the vague direction of Zuko's head. "Yo! You coming with us?"

Zuko lifted his tail and let it thump on the ground once.

"Then it's settled, the big lizard's coming with."

"Well," Katara started, "if this is going to be long term, we should pick an actual name, instead of a bunch of random nicknames.'

"Oh!" Aang jumped up. "I'll go first! How abou-"

"Aang!" Sokka interrupted. "Before start throwing random names out we have to know something first."

He looked at Zuko. "Are you a guy?"

Zuko rolled his eyes and hit the ground once.

"Right, everyone, pick guy names." He turned to the airbender, gave him a mock bow, and spoke in an exaggeratedly aristocratic voice. "Avatar Aang, I do believe you had desired to go first?"

Aang giggled before making his suggestion. "Okay, how about Neela?"

Zuko shook his head no.

"Ukwu?" Katara added.

Another no.

"Oku?" Sokka asked.

"Xīyí?"

"Dhuaan?"

"Ima?"

"Yújìn?"

Amidst the names being thrown left and right there was one that caught Zuko's attention.

"Zantetsu?"

He looked at Aang and hit the ground.

"Do you like that one?" He asked "Zantetsu?"

Zuko nodded. It would be acceptable, for now.

"Pleased to meet you Zantetsu, I'm Aang."

"I'm Katara."

"Sokka."

"Toph."

Zuko looked at each as they said their respective names.

When they finished he let out a deep rumble from the back of his throat.

It was quiet for a couple of seconds before Sokka grabbed his bedroll and started laying it out.

"Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go pass out for a week."

* * *

•Zuko - Dragon Form + Appa Size Comparison•

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm open to suggestions.  
> Please tell me what you think or let me know if I made any mistakes.  
> So, whenever I read something I'm like "I wonder if the story will go this or that way?" and I did that with this story.  
> And then I realized  
> Wait  
> I'm writing this  
> I can Make It go that way  
> Anyway, I'm now Pumped for where this story is going.


End file.
